Starter for engines



STARTER FOR ENGINES Filed Feb. 25, 1928 A TTORNE Y.

Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 WILLIAM cAELE'roNSTARKEY AND DALMAR TEMPLETON BRowNLEE, OF INDIAN- AroLIs, INDIANA,ASSIGNOR-S T L. G. s. DEVICES CORPORATION, OF INDIANAPOLIS,

INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA s'rAEIEn, FOR ENGINES Applicationfiled February 25, 1928. Serial No. $6,954.

This invention relates'to apparatus that is suitable for application toan electric starter motor for controlling a shiftable pinion or wheelwhereby to start rotation of a wheel of an internal combustion engine orother machine requiring initial starting, the invention having referencemore particularly to control devices of such apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide a manual-shift starter ofsimple and inexpensive construction that will be unlikely to be damagedor contribute to the damage of parts but rather will be durable andeconomical in use and not cause excessive or damaging wear on the teethof engine gear wheels.

.With the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsists mainly in the novel application of a spring-clutch to a starterstructure and to novel means for con trolling the'spring-clutch andelements associated therewith, whereby to control the shifting androtation of a starter pinion or wheel; and further, the inventionconsists in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts ashereinafter particularly described and further defined in the .claimsappended hereto.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a side view of theimproved starter in which parts are in section, a conventional electricstarter motor being shown in connection therewith Fig. 2 is a side view,partially in longitudinal section, of the starter unit separate from themotor shaft, being on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a longitudinalcentral section of the starter unit. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionapproximately on the line IVIV on Fig. 2, and Fig. 5-is a view sim- -Thelarger orbody portion of the ilar to the preceding figure showing slightmodification of structure. 7

Similar reference characters in the different figures of the drawingsindicate corresponding elements or features of construction hereinreferred to in detail.

In-the drawings the numeral 1 indicates a machine wheel required to bestarted rotatively, the fragment of the wheel shown being readilyrecognized as the toothed gear wheel of an internal combustion engine,to be initially started by means of a suitable electric starter motor 2,to the housing of which a.

gear housing 3 is connected which has a proecting portion or arm 4thereon provided with a bearing box 5 assisting to support the armatureshaft 6 of the motor, the shaft having splines 7 thereon in proximity tothe motor housing. A suitable electric switch is required forcontrolling the operation of the motor and comprises a plunger 8suitably mounted in a switch box 9 fixed on the motor housing, theplunger having a switch bar 10 connected thereto to be moved intoconnection with electric contact devices or poles 11 and 12appropriately supported in the switch The starter unit has a drivingelement or part which comprises an annular drive portion 13 suitablylarger" in diameter than the armature shaft and a relatively smallercontrol portion in which is a circumferential groove 14 to receive ashifter fork, the smaller portion having a bearing bore 15 slidinglyguided on the armature shaft, the bore having splines 16 therein toco-operate with the splines 7. That portion -of the armature shaft thatis adjacent to the motor is preferably larger diametrically than theremaining portion that extends to the bearing box 5.

rivingpart has a bore 17 therein in which is a groove 18, and a recessor counter-bore 19 extending from the bottom of the bore and in thebottom of which is a small pocket 20.

The starter unit has a substantially cylindrical controlling sleeve 21having a bearing bore 22 equal diametrically to the bore. 15 and asmaller bore 23 corresponding to the's'maller portion of the armatureshaft, one end of the sleeve being guided on the bottom of the counterbore 19. Preferably the sleeve has a clutch collar 24 thereon adjacentto its opposite end, the collar having a circumferential clutch groove25 therein. A coiled clutch spring 26 is loosely arranged on the sleeve21 and tightly in the counter bore 19 and has a lug 27 on one endthereof that extends into the pocket 20, the opposite end of the clutchspring having a lug 28 thereon that extends into a pocket 29 cut intoone side of the collar 24.

The unit includes also a driven part which comprises a body ortion 30having a clutch bore 31 that is slightly greater in diameter than theoutside diameter of the clutch spring and is guided against the bottomof the bore 17, being rotatative in the latter, the bore 31 receivingthe major portion of the clutch spring and also the collar 24. Thedriven part has a bearing bore 32 that is movably guidedon the shaft 6,this bearing portion bemg in the form of a neck 33 having a pinion 34fixed thereon adapted to engage the wheel 1. The neck is connected withthe body or main portion 30 by a head formation 35 that has guidingcontact with the adjacent end of the sleeve. The opposite or innerportion of the main part 30 has a collar 36 thereon providing a shoulderthat isengaged by asplit ring 37 sprung into the groove 18, whereby thedriven part is connected with the driving part and enabling the twoparts to retain the sleeve between them and to move the sleeve along thearmature shaft. The arrangement is such that when the clutch spring 26is slightly expanded diametrically it engages the wall of the body orclutch portion 30 to rotate the driven part. The clutch portion 30 has acircumferential enlargement to constitute a clutch box 38 in which is acircumferential groove 39 and a pocket 40 radially intersecting thegroove, and a clutch block 41 is movably guided in the pocket, the blockhaving a tapered end contact portion 42 projecting into the clutchgroove 25 and normall retained in clutching contact by means 0 a curvedspring 43 engaging the block and having a lug 44 on one end that isanchored in a socket 45 in the wall of the clutch box, preferablyopposite to the pocket. A retaining band 46 is secured on the portion 38to prevent displacement of the clutch block by centrifugal force butpermitting slight outward movement of the clutch block.

The pinion 34 and parts associated therewith may be manually moved alongthe armature shaft by any suitable or conventional means, as a shifterfork 47 operating in the groove 14 and connected to a pivot device 48supported by the housin 3 and a lever arm 49 connected also to the plvotdevice and havin a short arm 50 thereon adjacent to the shifter fork,the latter having a pivot .pin

551 to which an eye-bolt 52 is connected that extends through a member53 of the arm 50 and has a nut 54 thereon engaging acoil spring 55seated on the member 53, the arm 49 being provided with an adjustablestud 56 to be moved into contact with the switch plunger 8. Thisoperating apparatus permits further movement of the arm 49 to operatethe electric switch in case the movement of the fork 47 is arrestedbecause of stoppage of the pinion 34 against the wheel 1 when shiftingthe pinion to the wheel.

In a slight modification of structure, instead of the friction clutchabove-described a member 21 corresponding to the member 21 in otherrespects has a ratchet wheel thereon provided with a suitable number ofteeth 57, 57 and the block 41 has a tooth 58 arranged to be forced intoengagement successively with the ratchet teeth by the action ofthespring 43 having engagement with the block 41.

In practical use, when it is desired to start the engine wheel 1, thelever arm 49 is operated by suitable means, not shown, to push thestarter unit along the armature shaft to bring the pinion 34 into meshwith the wheel 1, the starter motor being at rest, but is started uponoperation of the electric switch when the pinion is in mesh. Uponmovement of the pinion to the gear wheel, in case the pinion is stoppedagainst the wheel without meshing with its teeth, while the movement ofthe fork 47 is momentarily arrested, the arm 49 continues to move untilthe switch is operated and the motor started so as to cause rotation ofthe pinion which is immediately moved by the action of the spring 55into ing part, resulting in the rotative movement of the pinion which,being primarily driven by the armature shaft causes starting of the gearwheel 1, which enables the engine to begin normal operation. Usually theengine at first develops high speed so that centrifugal force causesaction of the clutch block a 41 to releasethe clutch spring 26 at aspeed only slightly exceeding the free running speed of the electricstarting motor, practically releasing the pinion from the motor armatureso that the pinion is free to spin' on its bearing and attain very highspeed in case it is so driven by the engine gear withoutmateriallyincreasing the rotative speed of the motor armature. Thisoccurs because'the friction of the armature bearings plus that of thebrushes on the motor commutator exceeds the friction of the pinionbearing. Obviously the starter unit is shifted to carry the pinion awayfrom the engine gear wheel when the larger arm 49 is reversely moved.The amount of wear on the starter gear is small because of the lightweight and small amount of friction of the pinion member.

In the operation of the modified form of clutch, the centrifugal forcecauses outward movement of the block 41 to release it from the ratchettooth with which it may be engaged, the after results being asabove-mentioned.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A starter having a driving part and a driven part and also a clutchsleeve, a pinion fixed to the driven part, a diametrically changeableclutch device operated by, the driving part to rotate the driven part,and spring actuated clutch means, co-operating with thesleeve and thedriven part temporarily to hold the clutch device to enable automaticoperation thereof.

2. A starter for engines having a driving part and a driven part, acoiled spring clutch connected at one end to the driving art andengageable with the driven part, an springactuated clutch meansco-operating with the driven part to hold the opposite end of the springclutch for engaging it with the driven part upon action of the drivingpart.

3. A manual shift starter for-engines characterized by a wound clutchspring, a driven part and clutch means to hold one end of the clutchspring, a pinion fixed on the driven part for engagement with the engineat rest, and a driving part connected to the opposite end of the clutchspring to unwind it into connection with the driven part.

4. A starter having a hollow driving part, a. hollow driven partrotatively connected with the driving part and having a pinion thereon,a clutch sleeve within the driving and the driven part and provided withmeans for clutching the sleeve to the driven part, and a diametricallychangeable clutch device connected to the driving part and to the sleeveto engage and clutch to the driven part.

5. A starter having a rotary driven part and a rotary sleeve providedwith automatic clutch means to connect the sleeve to the driven part,the clutch means being subject to centrifugal action to counteractoperation thereof, a rotary driving part, and a diametrically changeableclutch device connected to the driving part and to the sleeve toautomatically clutch to the driven part upon operation of the clutchmeans. R

6. A starter for engines characterized by a driving part, a driven partwith a pinion thereon, the driven part having a hollow cylindricalclutch member, a sleeve in the. clutch member, a wound clutch spring inthe clutch member and connected at one end to thedrivtion of a drivingpart having a the driven part to enable the driving part to.

unwind the clutch spring into contact with the cylindrical clutchmember.

7. An engine starter unit comprising a bored driving part with a splinetherein to I rotate the part, a hollow and bored driven part with apinion on one end thereof and its opposite end contacting with thedriving part, a bored sleeve part arranged in the driving part and thedriven part and contacting at its opposite ends therewith forsynchronous shifting movements thereof, a coil spring clutch 'fordriving the driven part connected at one end to the driving part and atits opposite end to the sleeve part, and clutch means releasable bycentrifugal force and normally clutching the sleeve to the driven partto enable the spring clutch to act to drive the driven part.

8. In a starter for engines, the combination of a driven part-and apinion thereon, a driving part, a diametrically expansible wound 1spring clutch associated with said parts to be partially unwound toclutch the parts together, and positive non-frictional means to connectthe spring clutch initially to one of said parts.

I 9. In a starter for engines,the combination of a sleeve provided witha collar having a' circumferential groove, a drivenpart havlng a clutchmember extending about the body of the sleeve and provided with a clutchhead extending about said collar, said head having a radial pocket, aclutch block in said pocket to operate in said groove, a spring anchoredin said head and tensioned on said block, a band secured to said head toguard said block, a driving part, and a spring clutch connected to thedrivin part and also with said collar to operate wlth said clutchmember.

10. In a starter for engines, the combination of a driving part having abore, a'driven part rotatively connected with the driving part andprovided with a radial clutch box,

the driven part having an annular clutch member, a pinion fixed to thedriven part, a wound spring clutch arranged in said clutch member andsaid bore and connected to the driving part, a sleeve within the drivingpart and the driven part and connected to the spring clutch, and aclutch block movable in said box and spring-pressed into clutchingengagement with the sleeve.

11. In a starter for engines, the combinabore and a recess in the bottomof the bore said part having a groove in the bore, a. driven part havingan annular clutch member extending into said bore, said member having ashoul der on its periphery, a retaining ring seated in said groove inengagement with said shoulder, a coil spring clutch secured at one end111 said recess and extending into said clutch member,the opposite endof the clutch having a lug thereon, a clutch sleeve extending looselyinto the spring clutch and having a pocket receiving said lug, clutchingmeans co-operating with the driven part and with the sleeve initially toclutch the sleeve to the driven member for expanding the spring clutchinto contact with said clutch member, the clutching means being affectedto automatically release the sleeve upon abnormally high speed movementof the driven part, and a pinion fixed to the driven part.

12. In a starter for an internal combustion engine with a starter wheel,the combination of a rotary starter shaft and a pinion thereon to turnthe starter wheel, an operating driving means on the shaft to rotatetherewith, manual shifting means to longitudinally shift the drivingmeans, and a driven element and clutch connecting means on the shaft tobe operated by the driving means provided with controlling means tocompel operation of the driving means, the controllin meansautomatically acting under centri gal impulse to render the connectingmeans inoperative upon the attainment by the driven element of a higherspeed than the driving means under power of the engine, the pinion beingdirectly rotated and also shifted by the driven element in co-operationwith the driving means to or from the starter' wheel.

13. A starter for an internal combustion engine havinga driving part anda driven part and an intervening diametrically changeable cylindricalclutch device secured to the driving part, a pinion fixed to the drivenpart, a sleeve loose within the clutch device and secured to the sleeve,and a controlling means including a s ring-actuated clutch elementcarried by the riven part and normally cooperating with -the sleeve forcompelling operation of the clutch device to rotate the driven part, thecontrolling means operating automatically by centrifu al force fordisengaging the driven part rom the driving part upon increase of speedof the driven part in excess of the speed of the driving part.

'14. In a starter, the combination of a driv ing part and a driven part,a coil, spring clutch permanently secured to one of said parts to beoperated to clutch and drive the other part and automatic clutch meansbetween said spring and the driven part for operating at a predeterminedspeed of the driven part when overrunning the driving part fordeclutching the clutch spring from the driven part.

In' testimony whereof, we afiix our signatures on the 21st dayof-February, (1928., WILLIAM CARLETON STARKEY.

DALMAR TEMPLETON BROWNLEE.

